Lungwash — Not Corpse. But Larva
The two tapes come in a lo-fi/ simple yet effective black & white paper sleeve which fits inside a long/ double see-through plastic tape case. The set is put out by Scotland based Sound Holes tape label, and it comes in a edition of 63 copies.
The first tape is entitled “Within The Hollow Womb”, and it features two untitled tracks- one on either side of tape. Side ones track starts off as a eerier mixture of rushing organic drone that’s played over by a slightly uneven textural mass of crackling static. The drone texture brings to mind either the draining & unsettling sound of distant insect hum, or underground water way rush. And the static crackle element is very earthy & at times almost looped fire in it's tone. Around the mid-way point the drone seems to take on a more chilling autumn rain type persistent feel mixed with feasting insect like churn; as the static crackle slowly fades into background and new distant sort billowing/droning textures can just be made out at the edge of the track. This first track is a great start to the set, and shows how clever, earthy & hypnotic this projects work is
The second side of tape one offers up a track that starts out as a mixture of distant greyed billowing/rumbling drone, which it’s played over two layers of crackling 'n' hissing static haze. By around the two minute mark the layers of static have started to thin down becoming less dense in there feel, taking on a slight more erratic though still constant covering. The billowing/rumbling drone becomes more defined in a sort of pummelling primal/ battering manner- yet it still retains a muffled sort of earthy charm. As the track carries on I guess it starts to become most eerier through appealing in a ANW sort of way, with the drone fading & the constant hypnotic crackle surrounding you like strange ghostly footsteps walking around you in a night-time forest.
Tape two is entitled “Not Corpse. But Larva”, and once again features a single untitled track on each side of tape. The first sides track starts off with layers of focused autumn wind like texturing, pretty soon these are added to by receptive jittering yet muffled noise texture- and the whole thing gives one of the impression of walking against the wind over a barren vast field an a October day, dusk is just starting to ebb into the sky, and for some reason you feel more than a little creeped-out. As the track progresses the tones seem to take on more of a flapping flame type vibe, as if you approaching some strange ceremony around a fire in night time woodlands. Around the mid-way point a series of sluggish type rubs ‘n’ rumble are added to the track, and pretty soon it drifts deeper into a sort of radom & creepy series of sluggish/ earthy tone bashers.
The track on the second side of two tape starts off with a line of crackling/ eerier static that is underplayed by these creepy sort of muffled knocking ‘n’ bashing undertones, and this distant single note baying tone. To me this track has a very unsettling black & white vibe to it, and in my mind conjures up TV footage of Ring like death video replay with some strange figure making it’s way out of a well in the middle of dark woodlands. As the track moves into it’s third minute it starts to get a bit more rapid & almost a bit manic in it’s muffled & grey way. Around the six minute mark the track seems to start to fuzz & aged around the edges as if it’s some huge grey flower that closing in around you,yet there is still this fading yet rushing static white-out in the front of the tracks sound field.
“Not Corpse. But Larva” is another very rewarding release from this most distinctive project that falls somewhere between HNW/ANW/grey or organic ambience. And all been well, as there where sixty plus copies of this made, you should still be able to get hold of a copy.